2 bicyclists arrested at Critical Mass get out of jail

By SCOTT GUTIERREZ, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, July 2, 2006

Two bicyclists arrested during a large bicycling demonstration downtown didn't know that the two motorists they tangled with Friday were King County sheriff's deputies, said a witness involved in the protest.

Zachary D. Treisman, 30, and Jason C. Brien, 18, both of Seattle, were arrested Friday when hundreds of bicyclists were staging Critical Mass, a monthly celebration of bicyclists who ride en masse through downtown to assert their rights on the road, blocked an intersection where the deputies were waiting in traffic.

Treisman was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an officer and was released Saturday after friends posted a $3,000 bond, according to friends and jail records. Brien, who was booked on suspicion of disturbing the peace and being a minor in possession of alcohol, was released late Friday on his own recognizance.

Charges were pending.

According to four witnesses, all with the bicycle group, Brien was blocking traffic around 6:30 p.m. for other bicyclists to pass at Western Avenue and Vine Street -- what Critical Mass participants call "corking." He was confronted by a deputy in civilian clothes who was driving a van stopped at the intersection.

Treisman saw a man jump out of a van and grab his friend, and he tried to pull the man off. Neither Brien nor Treisman allegedly knew the man was a law enforcement officer. Treisman thought the man was an angry driver attacking his friend, said Charles Redell, a witness reached by phone on Sunday.

According to witnesses, a second deputy in civilian clothes emerged from the vehicle and helped his colleague arrest both bicyclists.

A sheriff's office spokesman couldn't be reached Sunday.

Seattle police were not called to assist and were not involved with the investigation.